There are many fields, such as entertainment, academics, business, health care, etc., that utilize media having time based streams of information. These time based streams of information may be in the form of full motion images, e.g. video and movies; audio, e.g. music, sound effects, and voice/narration; motion graphics, e.g. animation; still images, e.g. text, pictures; and combinations thereof. The information is usually comprised of a stream of individual units, e.g. frames or blocks. Frequently, this information is in a digital format and resides on any of a number of conventional electronic mediums.
Oftentimes, the time based information is assembled into a presentation through the use of a processing system to edit the information. For example, a video may be edited and combined with audio, text, effects and/or graphics to create a presentation. A “presentation” is any changed version of an original time based stream of information or a modified copy of the original information. In addition, a “presentation” also may further be defined by at least one instruction for representing the original information in a changed form. In such an instruction-based presentation, the information is communicated in the manner according to the instruction. For example, a software program may include directions on how a digital video should be played, for instance, where only certain frames of a video are chosen for display.
Digital editing is typically performed in a processing system and involves random retrieval of information from storage, communication of the information, e.g. display on a monitor, and manipulation of the information to produce the desired presentation. During editing, a user may select specific pieces of information to be included in the presentation from a larger pool of the time based information and arrange the information into a desired order. Portion or portions of sequential information are also referred to as a “clip,” such as a continuum of segments, frames, blocks or footage. Typically, the presentation appears as a seamless flow of the edited information.
Editing may further entail removing portions of clips. During editing, particular “edit features” may be added to the presentation, such as transitions between clips, special effects (e.g. black and white, brightness, contrast, texture, echoes, compositing, blurring, etc.), text, graphics, clack background, silent audio segments, combinations of different types of time based streams of information, such as audio and still images, and the like. Various types of editing may be performed as new techniques for altering raw information are created.
Traditionally, editing of multimedia to produce presentations involved complex techniques performed by trained professionals. However, recently novice users have become interested in making presentations, as well. There has been increasing popularity in the processing of multimedia to produce sophisticated home movies, web sites, etc.
Given the currently diverse level of skills among authors of presentations, it is desirable to provide processing a system that is easy and convenient to operate. Such a system should have the required capacity to manage the information needed for the presentation, yet have controls that are simple to operate for the user to manipulate the information.
Although previous authoring systems provide for varying levels of sophistication and ease for the novice user, there are still several drawbacks to these systems. Some prior systems include Studio DV from Pinnacle Systems Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif.; Avid Cinema® from Avid Technology, Inc. of Tewksbury, Mass.; Adobe Premier® from Adobe of San Jose, Calif.; Dazzle* Digital Video Creator™ from Dazzle Multimedia of Fremont, Calif.; and DVgate™ from Sony Corporation of Tokyo, Japan.
In general, processing systems require that the time based stream of information be captured from a media source and entered into the system. The information is stored within memory in the system. Furthermore, during editing, the newly created presentation is also stored by the system. Typically, the presentation is in the form of references that correspond to the stored information. The references may have instructions on handling the information. For example, the references may direct the select portions of the information that are to be included in the presentation.
The time based streams of information entered into the processing system consume an enormous amount of storage space within the system. For long presentations, such as business presentations or short film, the typical processing system provides an insufficient amount of storage space. The footage may consume about 3.6 megabytes per second. A one minute movie may fill about 228 megabytes of storage. For example, a 13 gigabyte hard drive permits approximately a mere 55 minutes of video to be stored. Thus, it would be useful for a processing system to include enough storage space for a given presentation.
In order to increase storage capacity, some previous processing systems employ a redundant array of independent disks (“RAID”) to capture the information on multiple hard disks. A two-drive version of these RAID systems may offer 50 GB of video storage and 18 MB/second of information transfer rate. Although such as system may permit about 230 minutes of storage, the cost for the RAID systems can be prohibitive for a casual user.
Another method for saving storage is by shrinking the stored information through various compression techniques. However, increased levels of compression may compromise the appearance of the resulting presentation. Thus, better methods of conserving space are needed.
Oftentimes, only a small portion of the collected and stored streams of information is actually used by a presentation, especially where the user is a novice. Yet, prior systems do not permit information to be deleted during editing once the information is captured. Rather, these processing systems permit the user to control what is viewed in the presentation by moving the in and out points that indicate the segments of information that are to be accessed. Thus, a presentation may include instructions regarding the portion of the information in which output is to begin and the portion of the information where the output is to cease. In these prior systems, the unused portion of the information remains in storage and pointlessly consumes space that is bettered suited for the information that is in fact used for a presentation. A system that would allow for destruction of such undesired portions from storage would conserve storage space and permit the generation of longer and more storage intensive presentations.
Some previous processing systems save storage by first capturing the information in a lower quality than the actual condition of the information from the information source. Such poor resolution information consumes less space than the higher resolution and detailed information. In these prior systems, the user initially views this poor representation of the information and selects the portion of the information that is desired for the presentation. Subsequently, only the selected portion is loaded into the system at high quality. A drawback to these systems is that the user is not able to tell the true quality of information entering the system until after the edited version of the information is stored. Furthermore, the double capture and storage steps take time for the system to perform and wastes the user's time.
In light of the shortcomings of the various currently available systems, there is still a need for creating a presentation of a time based stream of information in a manner that conserves storage space. In particular, there is a desire for a processing system that eliminates unused information from storage. Furthermore, there is a need for a system that includes uncomplicated controls, such as by a simple a user interface, for a user to select and delete portions of captured information.